


Akira's Surprise

by Laparoscopic



Category: Katawa Shoujo
Genre: Christmas, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-08-29 07:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16739275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laparoscopic/pseuds/Laparoscopic
Summary: For theKatawa Shoujo S9 writing exchange.Writing prompt: Akira makes a surprise visit from Iverness on Christmas Eve to see Hisao, Lilly, and Hanako.





	Akira's Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EurobeatJester](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=EurobeatJester).



I couldn’t have pointed to any single event that made me worry that something was up with my sister Lilly. Not necessarily _wrong_ , per se, but still—off. Odd. Out of sorts. It was just a vague feeling, a sense of unease on my part, that slowly crept up on me over the course of several months.

It began when she didn’t call me for almost three weeks last spring, when usually I heard from her at least once if not twice a week. Well, that was odd, but maybe just a fluke. Busy with university or some such.

But then there was the way she’d change the subject whenever I asked her about her love life. We’d always been extremely frank and open with each other about our love lives, perhaps more so than most sisters. We’d giggle together and discuss our various boys and their pros and cons, comparing sexual techniques that we did or didn’t enjoy.

But now, silence. She claimed she wasn’t “on the market” at the moment, but that was odd too. Underneath the prim mask she presented to the world, she was a highly tactile and sensual girl, who was happiest when she had someone in her life to hold and hug. She no longer had me to hug, halfway around the world as I was, and although I was sure she got occasional hugs from her roommates Hanako and Hisao, I doubted that simple hugs sufficed for her “healthy adolescent sex drive.” Even if she wasn’t an adolescent anymore.

I could _almost_ believe that she was taking a break from sex and romance, taking the opportunity to figure out what she really wanted from a relationship. Especially since her last relationship had ended so ugly. But there was no talk of things like that, just a nervous change of subject whenever I brought the topic up. I wasn’t used to being shut out of my little sister’s life. I didn’t like it.

She _sounded_ happy when we talked. Which you wouldn’t think should be a cause for concern, but…she almost sounded giddy at times, but without any apparent reason. When I questioned her about her happiness point-blank, she just said, somewhat blithely, “Oh, I’m just happy that summer is finally here.” Or, “It’s been a good week.”

And then she told me she wasn’t going to come visit the family over winter break like she’d been doing for the past four years. Her refusal to come to Scotland was somewhat understandable—she and our parents hadn’t gotten along so well on her last visit, last spring. I offered to let her stay with me at my apartment, so she wouldn’t be subjected to constant exposure to the ‘rents, but she’d still refused.

“I don’t deal well with jet-lag,” she said, when I asked why not.

“Who does? C’mon, Lils, if that’s your excuse, you’d never see any of us ever again.”

“I’ll come visit again someday. Just…not right now.”

“It’s been nine months since I’ve seen my favorite baby sister. That’s enough time for _you_ to have had a baby!”

Lilly gave a choked laugh that sounded like equal parts embarrassment and humor. “I have _not_ had a baby since you saw me last! Furthermore, I’m your _only_ sister.”

“Details, details. So, why not right now? Were things with Mother and Father so bad you just don’t want to deal with them at all? I won’t tell them you’re here, if you want.”

“No, I…we’ve worked a lot of things out over the last few months, in email and phone calls. Well, mother and I have, anyway. We’re…on better terms now, I think.”

“Is there something keeping you in Japan?” I lowered my voice conspiratorially, despite there being no one around to hear. “Is there some hot new boy in your life, and you just can’t tear yourself away from his loving embrace?”

She hesitated before responding, and for a moment I thought I’d hit the nail on the head. But then she said, “No. There’s nobody new in my life. I just…don’t feel like traveling right now, Akira. Isn’t that a good enough reason?”

Something about her tone of voice didn’t convince me. I wished I’d made the call a video call, instead of just voice. _She_ didn’t gain anything from a video chat, of course, but I did miss seeing her. And I really wished I could read her facial expressions, to get a better sense of what she was feeling. Thinking. Hiding.

Because I was convinced she was hiding _something_ from me. If not a boy, then…what? Was she flunking out of university, and too embarrassed to admit it? I found that hard to credit, not with her work ethic. And that didn’t jibe with her generally happy attitude. Was she getting harassed at school, for being blind, or “foreign?” But that didn’t make sense either.

Maybe there were problems between her and her roommates? But if that were the case, you’d think she’d _want_ to get away for a while. But from all she’d said, they were both doing well too, and she was getting along with them. I’d chatted briefly with Hanako just last week, and she’d sounded good, also even happier than usual. I didn’t think that was it.

I briefly considered calling Hanako or Hisao directly, to ask them what was up with Lilly, but I wasn’t sure they’d know. Or if they did know, they’d probably want to know why I was asking _them_ instead of _her_. The three of them had been sharing an apartment for almost three years now, and I trusted them to help take care of Lilly, to help her with things that a blind person couldn’t handle on her own. Mostly. But, honestly, they were both a little young. Naïve. Insufficiently worldly for my tastes. I wasn’t totally sure they could handle _everything_ that life might throw at them. Or Lilly.

So here I was, on Christmas Eve, on a crowded plane, failing to sleep away the miles. I didn’t think it was strictly _necessary_ for me to surprise Lilly by just dropping in on her, but, I had to confess, the fact that I had to travel all this distance to take care of my little sister made me feel a little…grumpy. Petty. Vengeful. So I hadn’t told her I was coming. I figured I’d just show up at her door, and see if the shock of my arrival might reveal anything useful.

I shifted uncomfortably in the airline seat, and regretted, for about the hundredth time, not spending the money on a business-class ticket for this flight. Scotland to Japan was over eighteen hours with connections, and my lower back was aching from so much sitting. I’d paced up and down the length of the plane a good half-dozen times already, but there were only so many times I could do that before I began to feel self-conscious about it. At least I had splurged a _little_ bit and gotten a front-row seat, so I had room to stretch my legs out in front of me as I failed to sleep.

I sighed. _Dammit, Lils, if you’d just_ ** _talk_** _to me, I wouldn’t have to be traveling all this distance to see you._ Of course, if she’d just _visit_ me, I wouldn’t have to travel at all. She could have been flying much more comfortably than I—Father always bought _her_ a business class ticket. But I was doing this trip on my own money.

Meanwhile…I still had eight more hours of flight to endure. I flagged down a passing flight attendant and asked for another beer. Maybe if I drank enough, I could fall asleep for the rest of the flight.

 

* * *

 

Once I’d landed and dealt with customs, I found the car rental place and picked up a car. The attendant had seemed startled to hear a tall blonde woman speaking flawless Japanese, a reaction I was used to, though I hadn’t encountered it for almost a year now. As I took my keys and bade them farewell, I realized my Japanese _wasn’t_ totally flawless anymore. I was speaking with a hint of a Scottish brogue. Which was truly odd, given that Scots English came down hard on the “r” sounds, and Japanese had almost none. It was an odd mix.

The sun was almost setting and snow was gently falling as I drove to the apartment complex where Lilly and her friends lived. I passed a grocery store near their place, and on impulse I stopped and went in. Although I had brought a couple of small, easily transported Christmas gifts for Lilly, I belatedly realized I should probably get something for Hanako and Hisao too. The traditional (for me) bottles of wine should do nicely. And I could get some beer for myself while I was at it.

I was lucky enough to find a parking spot near their building. I debated dragging my luggage as well as the alcohol up in one trip, then I decided to avoid the risk of dropping the bottles on the way in. I could get my luggage later.

The building door entry code hadn’t changed since the last time I’d visited—sloppy—and as I rode the elevator up to Lilly’s floor I pulled out the apartment key I had kept after helping her move in three years ago. As I approached the apartment door, I felt an unexpected surge of nervousness. I didn’t think there was _really_ anything major wrong with Lilly, but—what if there was? The notion that I might be about to find out what my little sister had been hiding from me for all these months made my stomach clench.

I opened the apartment door. No lights were on, which meant that Hanako and Hisao, at least, probably weren’t home, but Lilly might be. “Hey, Lils,” I called out as I entered. “Happy Christmas!”

Silence was all that came back to me. Well, crap. I didn’t _think_ they had had any trips planned to somewhere else for the holiday, but maybe Lilly hadn’t mentioned it to me. I flipped on the lights and looked around. The place looked basically the same as when I’d last been here, although there was a new painting on the wall by Lilly’s bedroom door. Triangular in shape, it took me a moment to realize that it was a portrait of Lilly and her two roommates. The paint was thick and textured, almost sculptural. I wondered who’d painted it.

I went to the kitchenette, and opened the refrigerator. There were fresh vegetables and a container ofleftover take-out in the fridge, so the signs were good that at least _one_ of the three was here for the holidays. I hoped it was Lilly. I stuck most of my beer and the white wines into the fridge to chill, then took one of the beers and sat on a stool while I drank and considered my next move.

They were hopefully out for dinner, or karaoke, or something. I briefly considered calling Lilly to ask where she was, but I still wanted that element of surprise, upon first seeing her face-to-face. I’d worked this hard for it, it seemed silly to abandon it now.

I drained the beer, then rinsed and tossed the can into the recycling. I yawned, and decided to take a nap. The couch looked short for my frame, but I was sure Lilly wouldn’t begrudge me using her bed for a nap. I just hoped I would wake up when she got home.

 _If_ she got home. I was going to feel really stupid if I’d come all this distance and never got a chance to see Lilly.

I was surprised to find Lilly’s bed had several stacks of clothing and books on it. She must have been sorting laundryrecently. Books in odd piles around her room were normal for her—there were also a few by the door—but almost everything else in her life was rigidly organized and structured, so she could easily find her things. Seeing the laundry left out, not properly put away as soon as it was done, was a little disturbing. That wasn’t her usual style. More evidence that something was amiss in her life.

I moved the clothes and books to neat stacks on her desk. I’d help her sort them back out later. As I lay down on top of the comforter, it smelled odd. Under the comfortingly familiar scent of Lilly and her shampoo, it smelled…stale. As if it hadn’t been used for a while. More fuel for my unease. Lilly had claimed she didn’t have a new boyfriend, but then why would her bed go unused long enough for it to get musty?

Before I could worry about that too much more, the reassuring familiarity of her scent overrode my worries, and my exhaustion finally caught up with me. Sleep claimed me and I fell into dreamless oblivion.

 

* * *

 

I struggled up from sleep an unknown time later, awoken by some sound I couldn’t quite process. I blearily looked at my watch—it was almost eleven o’clock. I’d slept for over five hours. Nowhere near enough time to conquer the jet lag, but it was a start. Sort of.

I could see a splash of light out in the living room. I tiptoed to the bedroom door, and peered out. The light was coming from Hanako and Hisao’s bedroom, their door ajar. The bathroom door was closed, but there was no light coming from under that door, so I wasn’t too surprised when the figure who emerged from the darkened bathroom a second later was my sister. I opened my mouth to say hello, to forestall her walking into me, standing in the doorway to her bedroom, but she didn’t turn my way. She turned the other direction and walked without hesitation into Hanako and Hisao’s bedroom.

I froze, puzzled. It seemed awfully late at night for her to be visiting with them, especially dressed in such a sexy nightie, but maybe Hisao was visiting family, and she was chatting with Hanako?

“Hey, lover,” I heard Hisao say as Lilly entered the room. My stomach clenched in reaction. _Is Lilly having an affair with Hisao?_ I couldn’t believe she would ever betray Hanako like that, but what else could that mean? I stood frozen as I listened to their soft voices murmuring to each other.

I struggled to comprehend how such a thing could come about, what possible changes could have made Lilly—and Hisao, for that matter—act in such a fashion. I knew I’d thought something was _off_ about Lilly lately, but this was unbelievable. So unlike her. And Hanako—she had grown stronger and more self-assured during her years at university, but it seemed to me that she was still fragile in many ways. This kind of betrayal would crush her, would utterly—

I heard Hanako’s laugh. “You’re the b-best Christmas present I could ever hope for.”

“Let’s get busy unwrapping you,” said Hisao.

_What._

I stood there for a long moment, stunned. My ears were hearing but my brain was not really processing the sexy laughing banter going on between all three of them.

_What?_

My little sister…was in bed with Hisao _…and_ Hanako?

“Holy _fuck_ ,” I whispered to myself. I had suspected Lilly had been hiding something from me, but _this?_ I thought back over our conversations—there was “nobody new” in her life, she’d said on more than one occasion. Hah. True enough. Just a couple of old somebodies.

My paralysis broke as I heard the soft talking give way to the sounds of soft kisses, and then gentle whimpers. _Fuck, how do I get out of this mess?_ I didn’t want them to think I had been spying on them (although I suppose technically I had been), but what could I _do?_

The simplest thing might be to pretend to “wake up” with a loud yawn in Lilly’s bed. It was close enough to the truth. I quietly stepped backwards into Lilly’s room, and promptly tripped over one of her stacks of books.

“Shit!” I cursed out loud as I _thumped_ to the floor, then froze, my hand clamped over my mouth. Well, that was certainly more dramatic than a yawn, but it wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind.

From the other room there was only silence for a long moment, then Hisao called out, “Hello? Is someone there?”

 _Oh, hell._ I groaned to myself, then sat up and called out, “Yeah, sorry, it’s me. Akira.” I stood up and dusted myself off.

“ _Akira?”_ came a chorus of three incredulous voices, in almost perfect unison.

I turned on the light in Lilly’s bedroom, and stepped out into the living room. Lilly was the first to stumble out of the other bedroom, wrapping what looked like Hanako’s robe around her as she came. I couldn’t help but notice she was no longer wearing that sexy nightie underneath it. _And_ the robe was inside-out, not that that mattered.

“Akira? What—why are you here?” she demanded.

“Hi, Lils,” I said weakly. “Happy Christmas.” She turned toward the sound of my voice, and frowned.

“Happy _Christmas?_ ” she sputtered incredulously.

“You’re an hour early,” said Hisao drily, as he emerged from the bedroom dressed just in pajama pants. I was momentarily distracted by his physique—I’d always pictured him as a scrawny twig of a guy, but he had some nice muscle on him. Strong in a slender sort of way.

Hanako peered out over Hisao’s shoulder, a sheet wrapped around her like a toga. I was startled by her casual attire, or rather, lack thereof—I’d never seen so much of her arm and shoulder scars before.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. It was supposed to be a surprise visit, but you guys weren’t home when I got here, and I was jet lagged, and I was just going to take a short nap and I fell asleep on your bed, and then I woke up and, um…” My babble trailed off and I took a deep breath. “Surprise?” I offered.

Lilly and Hisao were quite red-faced. I was somewhat startled to note that of the three of them, Hanako looked more amused than embarrassed.

“Y-yes, I’d say that th-this qualifies as a…surprise,” Hanako said, barely suppressed laughter in her voice.

“Yes…” said Lilly slowly. “And _why_ exactly did you choose to just ‘drop in’ unannounced from half-way around the world?”

“I wanted to see my baby sister,” I said. “I miss you.”

“Uh-huh,” said Hisao, looking dubious. “That explains the visit. It doesn’t address the ‘unannounced’ part of the visit.”

“Surprise?” I offered again. Not very convincingly, if their expressions were any indicator.

“Try again,” said Lilly flatly. She was glaring at a spot ten centimeters to the left of my face, but it was still an effective glare.

“W-what were you w-worried about?” Hanako asked, displaying a surprising level of insight.

I shot Hanako a wry smile. “When did _you_ get so wise?”

That got a chuckle from all of them. Even Lilly, who relaxed a fraction at the humor.

“Were you worried about me, Akira?” Lilly asked.

I snorted. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m your big sister. Do I need a reason?”

“Yes.”

I rubbed my temples and tried to swallow a yawn. “Because…I thought something was wrong with you. I could tell you were hiding something from me. Which is rather unlike you. So I worried.”

“And you decided to just ‘drop in’ from Scotland?” asked Hisao.

I shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time? But I must admit, I never imagined you were hiding something like _this_ from me.” I gestured to the three of them. Standing in a cluster, all well within each others’ personal spaces. At my gesture, Hisao and Hanako moved in a little closer to Lilly and each other, as if grouping together for reinforcement.

Lilly sighed. “Can we sit down for this discussion?”

“And I’ll…go p-put something on,” said Hanako.

Lilly looked startled. “You’re not wearing anything?”

Hanako giggled. “I’m…wrapped in the b-bed sheet.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t been sneaking peeks at your naked girlfriend,” I joked. I winked at Hisao. “Or boyfriend, either.”

Hisao still blushed quite charmingly. “I’ll go…get a shirt, too,” he said.

I regarded his retreating form. Apparently the tousled-hair stud had some skills in the sack, if he was managing to keep my sister _and_ Hanako happy. My sister had, as she liked to put it, a _healthy_ sex drive. She’d worn out a couple of boyfriends in the past.

Of course, it might be that _Hanako_ was keeping Lilly happy too, I suddenly realized. And vice-versa.

 _Hoo, boy_. Well, I’d wanted to learn what was going on…

We sat down around the low table in the living room, the three of them together on one side, me on the side next to Lilly. There were a few empty gift boxes on the table, as well as a surprisingly tidy pile of torn wrapping paper. One of the boxes was from a fancy lingerie store I’d never set foot in. Apparently I’d managed to not only sleep through their return to the apartment, but also their opening of presents. Jet-lag was a bitch.

“So, Lils, the solution to your lover not being able to keep up with you in bed is to have _two_ lovers?” I asked my sister.

“ _Akira!”_ Lilly exclaimed, turning bright red. I noticed that both Hanako and Hisao looked like they were holding back laughter.

“And is your heart up to the strain?” I asked Hisao, only partly joking. I didn't want the kid to drop dead in the sack—I rather liked him, even if he _was_ banging my baby sister behind my back.

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m fine. Why is that _always_ the first question anyone asks me when they find out about us?”

“Always?” I asked. “How many people know about this happy little ménage à trois?”

“Not many,” said Hisao. “Just a few close friends.”

“It's n-not exactly something we b-broadcast…to the world.”

“A ‘few friends,’” I said flatly. “But not your _sister?”_

Lilly flinched, and bowed her head. “I'm sorry, Akira,” she said softly. “But I was afraid that you might…disapprove. Might…get angry. Or hate me. For my…unorthodox lifestyle choices.”

My nascent anger vanished in the face of the naked fear I could hear in her voice and see in her posture. “Ah, Lils,” I sighed. I slid over closer to her and wrapped an arm around her rigid shoulders. “Nothing could ever make me hate you, sis. _Nothing._ I love you.”

She slowly relaxed under my arm, and leaned against me, wrapping her arms around me in turn. “I love you too,” she said softly.

I hugged her tight, then added teasingly, “Mind you, I might be a bit _envious_ of you. Two lovers at once? And _both_ of them incredibly sexy. What's your secret, girl? How'd you land them?”

Lilly giggled, her face red. “ _I_ didn't ’land them.’ Quite the contrary.”

I turned to Hisao, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Hisao, you smooth mover. I must admit, I never would have guessed you had it in you.”

Hisao also laughed. “Wrong again.” He just grinned at me, as if waiting for me to put it together. I stared at him blankly for a moment, then slowly turned to Hanako, who was sitting between the other two.

She smiled brightly at me and gave me a little finger-wave with her scarred hand. “Hi.”

It took me three tries to get any words out. “ _You?_ _You_ seduced Hisao and Lilly?”

They all laughed. “I prefer to th-think we seduced each other,” said Hanako.

“But it was Hanako who was wise enough—and brave enough—to realize that we were all in love with each other,” said Hisao. He turned his head and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“She brought us together,” added Lilly. She smiled lovingly in Hanako’s direction, then also leaned in to give her a kiss. Hanako looked shyly pleased and proud at their praise.

“Uh. Wow. Okay.” I stared at Hanako, trying to revise my mental image of the scarred stuttering girl to include this new information. It wasn’t fitting in very well. Apparently she’d changed more than I’d realized in the past three years.

I shook my head, and looked back at Lilly. “And you. _I’m_ supposed to be the family rebel and non-conformist. When did _you_ take over that role?”

“While you weren’t looking,” she said with a tiny smile.

As I thought about it, I realized that she was actually right—I’d settled down into a staid, stable job, even if it was half-way around the world from where I’d been born and raised. And meanwhile, my sister…

I looked at the three of them. They looked good together. Natural.

 _Wow. Just…wow_.

I slipped out of Lilly’s embrace and stood up. “It’s almost midnight, I think we can open your Christmas presents now. Do you want red or white?” I headed to the kitchen.

“Red or white what?” asked Hisao.

“Wine, silly,” said Hanako.

“This _is_ Akira,” said Lilly.

“Hey! I resemble that remark,” I protested.

“White, please,” said Lilly. “If you don’t mind?”

Hanako and Hisao shook their heads. “Fine by us,” said Hisao. He got up to help me find the glasses and corkscrew, and bring everything back to the table.

As Hisao sat back down next to Hanako, I worked on opening and pouring the wine. I glanced at the three of them, cuddled together, and felt a flash of guilt. “Ah…I’m sorry for, uh, cock-blocking your planned Christmas Eve celebration.”

Hisao snorted, and the girls giggled. “Well…it _is_ nice to see you,” said Lilly. “Even if you did…clit-block us, too.”

I almost dropped the glass I was holding as the other two burst into laughter. “ _Lilly!”_ I exclaimed.

“What? Believe me, Hisao isn’t the _only_ one you’re ‘blocking’ tonight.”

“T-too true,” murmured Hanako.

I stared at them for a moment, my face flaming, then I filled a glass with wine and knocked it back in one long swallow. Much to the amusement of the three lovers.

I poured four, more moderate, glasses of wine and passed them out, placing Lilly’s glass in her hand.

I raised my glass to the trio in front of me. “Well. Crude sexual innuendos aside, here’s a toast to the three of you. Long may you love and be happy. Happy Christmas!”

“Happy Christmas!”

 

 

 

 


End file.
